This is a good basic sauce from Emeril Lagasse.
It's doesn't have much heat though so a little pepper sauce or jalapeno peppers can be added if you like heat.

Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients

* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1/4 cup chili powder
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 10 ounces tomato paste
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings. Serve atop your favorite enchiladas.

I am what I call, taking the easy way, cook. I use Old Elpasa (sp?) canned enchilada sauce when I make my enchilada hot dish, using one can of hot and one can of mild. Thanks for jogging my memory, DD & fam are coming next weekend and I was trying to think of what to make. I think it will be this hot dish along with tossed green salad. Dottie

Here's mine.
6-8 Ancho chilis. Put in boiling water and set off heat. Leave to soften and soak up some moisture. Remove from water, cool, and then take out the seeds, and stem. Put in blender with, some salt, about 3 large garlic cloves, and 2 cups (or so) of water. Blend till smooth. This is my basic sauce. You can add chili powder, cumin or whatever to it if you like. Then to thicken it up to use for enchilidas, I put some oil in a skillet, and a little flour, then pour in the sauce, and blend and stir until thickened. You don't want it to thick. Just enough to stick to the tortilla. Dip tortilla into the sauce on both sides. Lay flat on a plate and fill with what ever you want. If sauce gets to thick, dilute it with more water or chicken stock in a box.
Leslie

My hat's off to people who make their own, but in my kitchen, making my own enchilada sauce is like making ketchup---a perhaps worthy venture, but for everyday use, a waste of time. I also use canned sauce.

I use an equal amount of Wondra flour and lard, add a little cumin seed and make a roux, then I add the Gebhart chili powder and let it toast a bit then I add beef stock or chicken stock and cook until the desired consistency.
It is one tablespoon of flour, lard and chili powder to one cup of liquid.
It is easy and tasty.
If you don't like lard, use a vegetable oil but the lard really gives it a great flavor.

We all like the green sauce.Too much trouble to make when you can buy it already made.I use the Las Palamas brand from WalMart on the Mexican Food aisle.They also make the red sauce but I have never used that because we prefer the green.Sometimes I use the green "as is" out of the can,sometimes I add a can of cream of chicken soup and some sour cream for a creamy sauce.We just had green beef enchiladas Friday.I made one pan with flour tortillas and 2 with corn.Put one in the freezer for later.I made rolled ones this time but a lot of times I just layer the tortillas,meat,cheese and sauce and make a casserole.Much easier and faster when you are cooking for a crowd.Either way they are always devoured! DS wanted them rolled this time so that's what I did.I do always roll them when I use flour tortillas.
There's a Mexican food place where we eat regularly in TX that makes the BEST green sauce.I asked one time what was in the sauce and they said it was green chilies,tomatillos,
onion,celery,bell pepper and lime juice cooked in chicken stock.I think from the consistency they probably put it in a blender after it is cooked.It has the most delicious,kind of tangy flavor I have ever tasted.Some day I am going to try to duplicate it.LOL I don't think you can go wrong with the canned sauce.

For those of us that like to control all the ingredients it's a worthy and easy process..I don't simmer 10-15 minutes any longer..just until it thickens.

Enchilada Sauce
4T flour (I use a homemade gluten free blend)
1/4 c oil (I use EVOO)
2 T chili powder
2 t cumin
1 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c hot water
2/3 c tomato sauce
Combine First 6 ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Bubble for 2-3 minutes stirring constantly. Carefully add the hot water and tomato sauce. Simmer about 10-15 minutes before using.

I am satisfied with the canned sauce available at the Mexican grocer to keep handy for last minute, spur of the moment meals. When I am planning on making them I buy the enchilada sauce from their deli.

Thanks for sharing the recipes everybody! Some of them look like variations I'd like to try. Gluten free you say?? Hmmm. Interesting.

Thanks for all your recipes!
I saw Emeril's when I posted and it is very close to Terri's.
I'll use a combination of the two.

I have a Chicken Enchilada recipe that calls for chipotle chilies and for a touch of extra heat, I'll put a touch of adobo sauce from the chilies in the red sauce.

wish the little mexican place we recently tried would read this post...they used almost a gravy con-coction..yuck!

you know, the best enchiladas i ever had were the ones made at hollywood high school, in ca, back in the 60's...just plain cheese and onion. i've nver been able to duplicate them...

Does anyone have a recipe they would share please.

The recipes are posted in this post Bengardening....